Our engagement photos... and the hangover

So my best friend/maid of honor has a super talented husband, Greg Bales, he did our engagement photos and most of our wedding pics too, we did hie and extra 2 photographers so he could enjoy himself as-well.

My husband had this whole thing planned out, we had gone to Edinbururgh every year for his birthday and this time was no different except he planned his birthday trip around all the wedding planning. He made the appointments with the locations, the venue, the whole enchilada and all I id was plan the engagement photo shoot, lazy bride? No, apparently this was his plan from the beginning.

But also we were celebrating his birthday and our engagement, so what did we do you ask? We got shitfaced and a heavy metal bar called Opium where they had this magical concoction called "The Opium Bomb and my husband thought having 20 of those was a great idea the night before our photoshoot. I also thought it was a great idea to drink all the scotch placed in front of me that night so of course we were super hungover the next day so here is what I did to try and avoid looking like crap in our engagement photos:

Slept in as much as I could, eat a heavy breakfast, shower for like 40 minutes and then applied the following:

I washed my face with my Clarisonic Mia and First Aid Beauty (FAB) cleanser, toned with Olay's witch hazel toner, applied my Josie Maran argan oil and then the magical unicorn Shiseido's Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Pure Retinol Express Smoothing Eye Mask
I left this on for as long as it was wet, this puppy help mask the nightmare under my eyes. Of course I packed on the makeup like crazy but I think the under eye mask helped sooooo much.

Here are some sample photos where you can't really tell that I'm actually dying inside:

Long time no type!

I feel like I should be apologizing to myself more than my 2 or 3 followers LOL I promised myself I'd get back into this and look at what happened... I got engaged and came to a complete stop when I could've been super cool by documenting all the beauty do's and don'ts at you wedding, my emergency bride bag, the makeup artist I hired to do my face on the day, etc.

Lucky for me/you, I kept tabs on everything! I have the pictures of the makeup trial, the artists name, number, email, website, the products she used, the one's I asked her to use (she was excited to use products we don't get in the UK), pictures and stories to share.

I also have an update on my skincare routine, my hair products, nail polish collection has been reduced, makeup has duplicated... (no shame), the husband and I are moving to Germany in less than a month, missing my old friends, looking forward to making new ones, aaaaand of course MY NEW HUBBY :)

Late July of 2014 was when my husband (then boyfriend) came back from a long ass business trip, we've been through it before, this time was no different. We then planned a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland for his birthday which was in late August, hotel was booked, flights were booked (for some reason it was cheaper by plane this time of year). Anywho, nice sunny day on August the 13th and oh I decided to surprise my BF with my new found skill on how to make sushi all by myself, so he comes home from work and I'm just now finishing up, he seems anxious, he got a package in the mail, goes upstairs and I hear all the shuffling in the office, he comes downstairs and tells me he got me a souvenir from his trip and he just got it in the mail... I'm covered in rice that smells like rice vinegar and rushes me to open this AMAZING handmade mini wooden chest with the TRIFORCE painted on it along with me name (he knows me too well) I got all excited because of course... Zelda LOL. So I open it and see grassy looking stuff some glass stones that I guess were meant to look like rupees and this shiny ass breathtaking "make me yours" looking engagement ring and all I could say was "OH MY GOD!" for like 3 minutes and then he finally said to me "You haven't said yes" of course I yelled "YES" at his face and hug him non-stop to then follow with something only I could be thinking about right then and there...

 As I tear up and start to cry as I hug him, my romantic side says "I smell like sushi..."

Yeah, I'm super romantic LOL! And of course I called my girlies and went to the pub a couple hours later and told my sushi to fuck off for now.

Empties Vol 2

My first empty is my holy grail of skin care products. In the past I have used acne focused moisturizers for my face, Retinol SA's, Retin A's, AHA's, BHA's, Salicylic Acid, Benzoyl Peroxide, OMG! You seriously have to study biochemistry engineering to be a woman, or a very self-conscious human being for that matter, to "look good". So when I came across a sample of Josie Maran's 100% pure Argan Oil, it was a blessing... that's literally all it contains: Argan Oil.

No fuss, no chemicals, just that. And guess what? My skin has never felt better; redness has been reduced, I hardly ever get any spots (sadly if I wear makeup I do get some), it doesn't feel oily, etc.
The pros could go on and on and the only "CON" is the price being a little out of my range although I can't really complain that much about the price either; I bought one full size bottle in Jan/Feb this year and I haven't finished the whole thing, we are now in August. It could've easily lasted me another month buuuut (this was unexpected) my partner has started using it to style his hair/treat a severe case of eczema he had for years which has been significantly reduced and has nearly disappeared since he started using Josie's Oil! Go Josie!

I know this isn't a "Single Product Review" post but I am in shock that now my guy is hooked on it too and he says he doesn't like using other styling products because this oil gives him  nice "natural" (non gooey) look. :)

Next empty that I swear by: It's a 10! Leave in Conditioner (purple lid, not orange). I've gone through 3 bottles already in the past 5 months.... I seriously need to find a dupe because this stuff is NOT pocket change friendly!  I am used to buying my own stuff with my own money, but I recently had to quit my job and go for anything else that was out there... and that meant a considerable pay cut. So nearly $20 for something that; yes, is amazing, but doesn't really give you the best bang for your buck (AKA tiny ass bottle) is NOT worth the splurge, unlike the previous mentioned product which was like $50 or $60 that has lasted about 6/7 months.

I thought I'd never go back to L'Oreal. I am currently on my second tub of L'Oreal's Total Repair 5 Damage Erasing Balm. It claims to repair up to 1 year of damage in one use. That's overrating yourself a bit L'Oreal. But I do have to admit that after a month of use I began to see positive results. The one day; my curiosity got the best of me. Once a weeks I will put some coconut oil in my hair, leave it over night in a silk scarf and wash in the morning. So one Sunday night I did the same thing and before pining my hair up into my scarf, I stared at my tub of Damage Erasing Balm and decided to experiment on my hair, rubbed some on my hands and braided my hair (already covered in coconut oil) with the Balm as-well. The next morning after wash and letting my hair air dry to about 70% I ran my fingers through my hair to detangle it..... OMG!!!!! My hair felt like baby hair, in a good way. It was crazy soft! And stays that way for days and days without weighing down my hair.

That's another empty, my organic coconut oil LOL.

The not so great one: Tresemme's Two Extra Hold Non-Aerosol Hair Spray. I know I've said in the past that I just don't like hairspray in general, but sometime you need a sleek look for a formal affair or a special event. So I bought this one day during my lunch hour because it was a crazy windy day in East Anglia and my do was all over the place. I chose unwisely. It took me forever to wash this out of my hair, made me feel like I had a helmet on my head, I tried to brush it out a bit before washing... didn't help. I had to wash it again and again. Now I'm not bashing on Tresemme, I love their regular hair spray, it's not too sticky and stiff but unfortunately it is in aerosol form. Sorry ozone :(

Glossybox UK May 2014

Hi there! Well I'm just going to get straight to the point; I got my glossybox mid-may but I decided to wait a couple weeks before posting my video because I wanted to give on honest review on what I thought about the products in my box.

The first one up is Garnier's BB Cream.It was a love/hate product for me, I love the fact that I don't wear makeup that often anymore, but most of the BB Creams I use are Asian and I absolutely love them. This product doesn't have as much coverage as other BB Creams I use and my skin tends to get oily in a matter of hours where with my everyday BB Cream (Skin79's Classic BB Cream) I can go all day without having to worry about what I look like at the end of my work day and it covers my acne scarring perfectly. I love the fact that is has high SPF protection but the down side to it is the shiny face you get after. It didn't break me out so it's good for sensitive skin and I more than likely would use during winter time.

Next: Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara. I tried this a couple times and to be fair, it's just "OK". Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate it, it's perfect for every day use, if you want crazy lashes you'll have to layer it quite a bit.

Ummm I haven't used the 2True 3D Nail Candy at all LOL. So I can't give an honest review, I tend to have shellacs all the time.

I couldn't find the I love... Strawberries and Milkshake lipgloss on the website so sorry for not linking it. I loved it, the smell is just amazing! The formula isn't too sticky and stays in place for a very long time. :)

The Large Doughnut Ring is as always amazing and a lifesaver, you running late in the morning? Slap that baby on and you're ready in 3 minutes.

Ganier's Ultimate Beauty Oil Lotion. This was awesome!!!! Smells like heaven, left my skin deliciously soft. I super super OMG recommend this, I will probably be buying this as soon as I run out of my current body lotion (Bath and Body Works Black Raspberry Vanilla Body Lotion). NO JOKE! I'm buying this!!!

And lastly, the little perfume sample... I can't remember the name LOL (I'm bad at this, I know). But I am a butt when it comes to perfumes, I have my 3 faves, Flower by Kenzo (I've used this for 14 years now), Amor Amor by Cacharel (I've used this one for about 7 years now) and Loverdose by Diesel (I've been hook on this one for the past 2 and a half years now).

Hope my reviews were helpful and entertaining and don't forget to check up on videos and more reviews :)

Have an awesome weekend! TGIF!!!

Favorite Hair Products!

As you might remember from my videos, I mention that I am not a big fan of hair styling products, I like treatments, heat protection, and oils. I have been trying to grow my hair long and strong for 3 years now and am finally achieving what I want. I made the big mistake of going blonde last summer just out of curiosity and DUH my hair went dry and eternally frizzy. Keeping up the trims to make sure I get rid of any split ends and finally back to brunette.

Here are the products I use the most:

Shampoo & Conditioner: Lee Stafford's Hair Growth Shampoo & Conditioner both on the pricier side considering they are both 200ml bottles, I always make sure I buy these at Boots while there is an offer and throw in the Hair Growth Treatment. My total would be over £20 but Boots always puts out a beauty offer of 3 for the price of 2 at least once every other month and you can save up to £7! There's nothing wrong with trying to be thrifty. And because I WASH wash my hair a max of 3 times a week, I tend to use all 3 products together. First the shampoo, then I apply the treatment to my roots and the conditioner to my end and leave those 2 in until I'm done with the rest of me :P

After showering I like to put in a leave in conditioner/detangler/heat protectant. I haven't seen this one sold anywhere in the UK but I get it at Walmart.com. It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Conditioner. I had read about this leave in conditioner on several blogs, read dozens of reviews on it and now that I have been using it over a month now I can give you my honest opinion. I like it and plan on repurchasing over and over again. I have to say I didn't expect it to make my hair miraculously beautiful from one day to the next or go super model shiny... However I do like the fact that it detangles, it is a heat protectant and it doesn't leave a gooey residue like some leave-in conditioners do.

After this process, I either let my hair air dry or half air dry and then go in with the blow-dryer for as little time as possible just to give me some volume and dry the rest of my hair. I could just count the leave-in conditioner as a heat protectant but I always go in with a little extra help. At the moment I use 2; Ganier's Anti-Frizz Serum which contains Morrocan oil and apricot oil. Not a hug fan of this one, it does help my hair dry even faster but if you get carried away by a little bit you end up with oily hair. My other heat protectant... well I just can't find anything negative to say about it! Redken's Smooth Lock Heat Glide. It smells delicious; I could not shut up about how sexy it smells, pretty sure my friend Helena hates me now because of it LOL. One and a half pumps is more than enough for my hair length and oh my, does it tame the frizz instantly!

And here are the products I use the least yet still would recommend:

Clear's Scalp & Hair Therapy Nourishing Oil. This I only use once every other month when I am doing the inversion method to help my hair grow. I massage it into my scalp for about 5 mins, leave it in for 2 hours and then shower. If you have straight or thin hair you might want to avoid this product, it's more for ethnic hair but I love it as a deep conditioning treatment and as a massage oil for my scalp.

BedHead's Ego Boost. This too is a leave-in conditioner that protects your hair from the elements (or so it says it has little to no description as to what it is protecting you from). It's said to be a split end mender which obviously I don't believe, does it smooth them out? Yes. I use this more as a freshen up from time to time because it smells pretty and yes it does smooth out your locks a bit. It's main use on my head; tame flyaways. I stopped using this after I started using my It's a 10! Leave-in conditioner.

IF! If I ever use hairspray (has to be a super special occasion AKA a ball or wedding) I use TRESemme's Tres Two if I'm looking for an updo. And bigsexyhair's Spray & Play if I'm going for voluminous loose locks. I tend to use these products more with my customers (I freelance hair, makeup & nails) along with this other product which I have never used on myself but it gives my customers the "texturized look" with a bit of hold; got2b's Beach Trippin Waving Spray.

And the extra: Charles Worthington's Style Setter Dry Shampoo. Does what it says on the tin and smells lovely. I have used it on both myself and customers to give a little MORE volume when needed.

My Youtube Channel

Don't forget to check out my videos on Youtube!

Empties Vol 1

Hi! Glad to be typing again :) I was going to start doing my empties on a monthly basis but I came to realize; I don't go through products fast enough to actually do that LOL. So I will be posting empties as soon as I have at least 5 of them and you'll be getting my opinion on them.

First empty: Mac's Fluidline Gel Liner in Blacktrack. Lives up to the hype, I can only think of one negative thing to say about it and that would be that it dries out a little tiny bit sooner than other gel liners I have used. In its defense; I used it almost every day for as long as I had it unlike the ones I've been using lately which I might use once a week. For some reason I've become this "ANTI MAKEUP" makeup junkie, how? I love makeup, I love playing with it, I love to use it, but I avoid it as much as possible. During the week (when I go to work) I'll put on a full face of makeup but I avoid eye makeup and on the weekends I don't even bother with BB Cream. And I'm going off on a tangent, sorry!

Fluidline in Blacktrack

Second Empty: Soap & Glory's One Heck of a Blot. I love this pressed translucent powder, I had been using Revlon's Photoready Translucent Pressed powder prior to this and it looked great in person but I had to run away from photography, no pics for me! It does that thing some finishing powders do that contain a lot of silica (not sure if I'm right on the ingredient) but with a camera flash it lookes like you're either a ghost or you've just done cocaine, and that's not good! I would buy this one again and again if they had it at my local Boots, but sadly they don't :(

Third empty: Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place Pressed Powder. This has to be one of the first "high end" powders I ever bought along with MAC's Mineralize Pressed Powder Foundation, both really good, amazing finish. Estee Lauder was a bit on the cakey side if I wasn't careful with my application. I have repurchased this on several occasions but oh sadness... Since I decided to cut back on my office hours, my income has reduced in size quite considerably so higher end makeup is beginning to be out of my budget. Oh well, you win some and you loose some, I do have to admit I am way happier now that I work less hours and stress doesn't get to me as much anymore. Totally worth it. (And there goes me off on a tangent again)

Empty number four: Estee Lauder's Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation. I loved this foundation for the longest time but shortly after repurchasing I realized my face hates liquid foundations. For the longest time I thought I was just that acne prone skin kinda gal but OH SURPRISE! For some random reason I stopped using foundation and stuck to JUST my BB Cream for a month and TADAAAA! Acne gone. I still use liquid foundation on very rare occasions; the Air Force Ball was one, new year's eve, Halloween... that one doesn't count, I was a Mexican Sugar Skull.

Loved my makeup this night!

Fifth empty: Superdrug's Artificial Nail Remover (couldn't find a link). This lil guy is a life saver. On my spare time I do Shellacs, acrylic nails, makeup and hair for special occasions for girls that know me from work, friends, etc. I love this as a hobby and I enjoy myself when I do it (one more reason for me to cut back on my office hours). So I used to purchase the elegant touch nail remover at Boots for nearly £3 a bottle, one day I walked into Superdrug and stumbled upon a bottle that looked just like it and £3 for 2 bottles. I know it makes me sound cheap or stingy if you like but for someone who goes through at least a bottle every month and a half, it does save me a lot in the long run. 

Sixth empty! TheFaceShop's Green Tea Mild Body Wash. I loved this body wash, I got it as a free sample from A-Poly seller on Amazon.com. Great customer's service and always sending free samples, this was a part of a 3 piece luxury size kit. Love the smell, the texture, it doesn't dry out your skin horribly. All around lovely and perfect size for travelling around. 

Empty number seven: Laura Ashley's Shower Cream. I wish I could buy a huge tub of this all year around but it was a part of a Christmas box my mom got me at Boots. The smell is soooooooo mesmerizing.

(I forgot to take a picture of the mascara btw)

Honorary mention in the hall of shame: Pantene's Smooth Shampoo... says to fight and control frizz. 2 weeks after using this (I wash my hair twice a week) my hair was horrible!!! Frizzy, dry, dead. I needed a haircut ASAP. I know I've dyed my hair a lot, but I've always been very careful to not push my hair to those extremes EVER. I had blue hair quite a few years ago and my hair was horribly burnt and dead and dry, so I never want to put my hair through that again. 

Hope some of my comments help you in your moments of need when shopping, I know most are positive reviews but I honestly prefer to tell you about the good things in a product than to complain endlessly about the negative stuff.

:)

Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil Review

Several months ago I purchase several sample sized products from Sephora.com one of which was the Josie Maran Argan Love Your Skin: Cleanse & Nourish To-Go-Duo. Both products I loved but I didn't seem to convince myself enough to purchase the full size bottle of Josie's argan oil, $50 was a little too much for my budget no matter how much I loved the results.

On the 23rd of January I said to myself: "Myself... you've worked for your money, you didn't get it for free. You deserve a lil something for yourself". And I did :)

From my first experience with this oil I experienced so many positive changes and the first one was... NO SPOTS, that's right no acne. I have blemish prone skin that goes a little oily in the summer and to my dismay I have hyperpigmentation issues as-well even if I don't touch the spot at all! Now that I've been using it again for a whole month I've had one tiny spot on my cheek and that was my fault because I fell asleep with my makeup on one night (in my defense; I had a fever).

Another one of the benefits I began to notice was my skin tone began to even out. As most women, the area surrounding my nose, the corners of my mouth and the corners of the eyes tends to get a little red (I noticed this began to happen to me around the age of 26 and panicked). This problem began to diminish significantly after about 2 weeks of use.

What pushed me to buy it? I had already tried it, plus it was mid December and I had to reapply moisturizer several times throughout the day to keep my skin from going completely dry, I needed a little something extra (it has been crazy windy/rainy/cold in England this winter).

REMEMBER if you do decide to purchase this marvelous product never forget that it is an oil and you only need 3 drops for your whole face, it's very easy to get carried away. Fortunately the bottle comes with a dropper so you can be extra careful :)

So there it is, would I recommend it? Yes, very much. Especially if you live in a cold and windy area. I have yet to put it to the test during summer but it's cold and windy in the summer over here as-well so I'm not too worried.

Hope this was a helpful read and remember to send feedback, I'd appreciate it greatly.

Have an awesome weekend my lovelies.

I'm back and I'm sorry

I was beginning to have a good rhythm; writing post, filming weekly but sadly I turned away from my blog. I'm not proud of it but I am not ashamed.

The reason was that my other half was being deployed to a non combat zone yet very far away with a poor internet connection. So the past 3 to 4 weeks of our time has been dedicated to precisely that "US time" and prepping for the separation to come.

He left this Tuesday and I fell ill the night before he left so now I've also been dealing with fever, coughing, stuffy sinuses, and much more fun without my cuddle monster and as up tight and cold as many people perceive me as, I am a mushy goop of sappiness in the privacy of our own home.

So now I'm finally starting to feel better! I am filming 3 videos on Sunday, writing a butt load of posts as-well :)

I hope my readers and followers forgive me for being on hiatus but a girl needs a pity party in these sort of situations (I gave myself permission to eat tons of chocolates and not wear make up for a week, so NO you don't want to see my face right now).

I have so much to show and tell you!!! Coming up soon:
Josie Maran Pure Argan Oil Review
bareMinerals; my long lost friend (story & review)
The Collection Grows (Nail polish haul)
Taking The Plunge - Investing in a Couple of NuMe Tools (straighter & curling wand)
Interviewing My Readers (2 volunteers so far)
My Nail Polish Rack Nightmare
Overseas Beauty Haul (goodies I've purchased from all over the place and had to wait to get them all in order to write/film this! LOL)
And I'll stop now before I spoil it all!

Thank you my lovelies, I'll type to you soon :)

#deploymentsucks

New Year's Eve 2013